The Complete Truth
by Mopshadow
Summary: The trial of Athena Cykes is finally over and the truth has been uncovered at last. However, the walk to Eldoon's Noodles for celebration may prove too revealing for the victorious attorney Phoenix Wright. Spoilers for AA5


**A/N: Okay so Dual Destinies has been out for a while and I've beaten it for a while and I'm a bad person. I scrapped about two other things I tried to write after the game and ended up with this. Probably just a one-shot unless I have some stroke of genius and want to add it onto this snippet.**

**SPOILERS FOR DUAL DESTINIES (in case that wasn't clear)**

The trial was finally over, and Phoenix felt better than he had in weeks. Years, even. Apollo was smiling despite all that he had lost, including his best friend, and even though Athena was crying her tears were no longer of despair. Phoenix felt like he could cry, too. It was almost humorous watching Prosecutor Blackquill panic over Athena's impressive display waterworks, his hands hovering around her uncertainly. Phoenix had to bite his lip to hold back snickering at the two of them. Over by Apollo, Juniper was still knitting that gaudy-looking scarf; it had long past reached the floor and was starting to pool around his feet, but Phoenix decided against mentioning it. He didn't particularly want to know where she was hiding all that yarn, either. Trucy was safe from her robotic kidnappers and back amongst friends, a fact that made Phoenix's knees weaker the more he thought about it, and Pearls was back to her usual happy, steadfast self. Phoenix wanted to take a page out of Blackquill's book and fret over them, but he figured Trucy would just brush him off. Apparently being a hostage hadn't dampened her spirits in the slightest. Though, Phoenix guessed he couldn't be too upset that she had handled herself well in that rather adverse situation. Maybe he should be concerned about her outlook on life, but not upset. But after that knife throwing incident today, he was definitely going to start keeping a closer eye on just what sort of tricks she was getting up to.

With Phoenix's odd support group of lawyers, prosecutors, and friends all cheering around him, everything was boiling down to a pleasant mood after the stress of the trial. Even Edgeworth was smiling at the good turn of events. Well, sort of, anyway. It was hard to have his spirits dampened after such a miraculous ending to the long week, and the smug little half-smile Edgeworth kept shooting was keeping the grin plastered brightly on Phoenix's face. Honestly, the only thing putting a damper on Phoenix's great mood was his very empty wallet and the expectant look of his Agency members as they all demanded celebratory noodles.

Free celebratory noodles, courtesy of their fearless leader.

Phoenix could practically feel his wallet shrinking in his pocket. Not to mention that since this trial had been under some very unusual circumstances, Athena probably wasn't going to pay him for his services. Not that he would ask her to. It was the thought that counted, wasn't it?

Only, he would be the only one thinking about it.

"OBJECTION!"

In the end, despite his protests and an impressive triple-objection from the lawyers present, somehow the group had ended up shoving him out the door and marching enthusiastically down the street toward the Agency, with the additions of Prosecutor Blackquill and Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth to the usual suspects. Okay, so Phoenix had caved to their pleading looks. Whatever. How could he say no after all that had happened these past few days? If anyone was in sore need to a noodle pick-me-up, it was this sorry lot. The noodle wagon was just around the block from the office, so Phoenix fell to the back of the precession. Some of them knew where they were going, at least. He watched as Trucy pulled Apollo ahead in impatience to get her share of her salty reward with Pearl and Juniper trailing close behind, hurrying to keep up with the siblings. Ha. Siblings. Sometimes Phoenix forgot about that little detail. Trucy really must have been torn up worrying about Apollo for the past few days after he just up and disappeared on them. It was a relief to see him coming back to his old self again. Further back was the newest addition to the law firm. An addition that, after today, would most certainly be staying. Athena had stopped crying, but she sniveled every couple of steps. Prosecutor Blackquill stuck by her side like a loyal samurai, jumping in concern at every unexpected sniffle.

_That guy takes himself too seriously..._ Phoenix thought with some concern.

Miles fell in step beside Phoenix.

"You're coming, too?" Phoenix asked when they were side by side, surprised that Edgeworth would take time out of his busy day to grab a bowl of salty noodles with, well, this outstanding group.

Edgeworth adjusted his glasses before answering. It was a habit he had formed now that he wore them, Phoenix had noticed. "What? Was I not invited?"

Phoenix gave him a shove.

Edgeworth chuckled quietly, struggling to stay on the pavement. "Well, since you were so generous as to offer to pay, I thought I would join in the celebration."

"Oh, great, thanks for coming." Phoenix silently considered whether he was above sticking his tongue out. He managed to refrained, as it would probably just make Edgeworth more full of himself. Instead, he sourly muttered, "Have as many bowls as you want," and stuck his hands in his pocket, a habit left over from his hoodie-sporting days. Sticking his elbows out made it even more difficult for Edgeworth to keep his footing and Phoenix watched with satisfaction as the other man hobbled with one foot in the street.

"I plan to," Edgeworth returned smugly. He finally managed to regain his space on the sidewalk by giving Phoenix a shove of his own and the two of them had to walk pressed close together since they both planned to stay on the narrow pavement this time.

_I'd like to see you try to eat more than one_. Then again, Miles probably would if just to spite Phoenix. _Let's avoid any trips to the hospital due to sodium poisoning..._

A warm hand wormed its way into Phoenix's pocket and wrapped around Phoenix's own hand. Quickly all negative thoughts were forgotten as Phoenix let their joined hands slip out of his pocket and hang in the small space between their bodies. Phoenix glanced up at Miles, who was watching him with his sharp gray eyes, only accentuated by his glasses. Phoenix tilted his head toward the rowdy group in front of them, because, well, there was a very rowdy group in front of them and someone was likely to look back eventually, but Miles simply shrugged in response. He leaned in to whisper in Phoenix's ear.

"After today, Phoenix, I don't think we're fooling anyone."

Oh. Right. The trial. They had been a little obvious, hadn't they?

And maybe it was time to come clean to the rest of his crew, Phoenix pondered. Trucy already knew, of course. That had happened when Edgeworth had moved back to the States about a year ago. She had been ecstatic when Phoenix had sat her down to tell her that he already had someone in his life so she didn't need to worry about finding him anyone anymore. She hadn't even been the least bit bothered that she was getting another Daddy and not a Mommy. Likewise, Edgeworth had long since heard about Trucy before then, but the two had never met. He didn't seem concerned that it wouldn't go well, though. Phoenix, on the other hand, had been a nervous wreck. It had been his old life meeting his new life, and Phoenix had been absolutely certain the crash would leave some collateral damage.

In reality, it had been the most natural thing in the world. Edgeworth had come over and met Trucy as his usual, collected self. Trucy had been so excited that she had jumped on him, but Edgeworth wasn't too offended by that. Surprisingly, Edgeworth seemed to handle Trucy's unpredictable nature really well, much to Phoenix's relief. He said it was because she was like her father, though Phoenix wasn't so sure if that remark was a compliment or a jab at him.

Either way, Miles had managed to slip into their little family unit without too many ripples. A hiccup here and there, but nothing as bad as Phoenix was expecting. It wasn't long before Trucy was dragging Miles to her shows every weekend, though Phoenix didn't think Miles minded all that much when he had the time to go. After today, Phoenix new he was at least paying attention during the shows, though he wasn't so sure of magic tricks and illusions could be used as arguing points in court since they were _staged by professionals_. Now he wouldn't be able to remember that good day without also remembering Mile's snarky little comment in court. Actually, thinking about it now, Miles seemed to almost always have the time to go to Trucy's shows. Maybe he was had arranged something at work.

There was really no doubt in Phoenix's mind that Pearls knew, too. Besides being BBF's with Trucy, whatever that meant, Maya knew. So, as Miles would say, it was only logical to conclude that Pearl would have found out by now. Maya was pretty reliable when it came to gossiping and, knowing Pearl and her romantic heart, their relationship had probably come up at some point or another, if not just to get Pearls of Maya's back.

That left Athena and Apollo. Neither of them had anything personal against prosecutors, Phoenix was pretty certain. Maybe Apollo did always seem to be at odds with Klavier Gavin, but the two were getting along smoother now as far as Phoenix could tell. Well, at least Apollo wasn't stumbling over every other word in court when Klavier flashed him an encouraging smile anymore. That had been hard to watch. Seriously. Athena had no room to talk, either, with the way she was beaming at Blackquill a few steps ahead. Phoenix didn't think that either of the young lawyers in his charge would react particularly badly, but...

It was hard to just come out and say that he was going steady with the Chief Prosecutor.

Yeah, he probably should have mentioned that by now.

Oh, well. Too late. With the way the two of them had acted in court today, even the judge probably had them figured out. And that was saying something.

Well, in that case, there was no reason not to hold Miles' hand a little bit longer.

"I'm surprised you're even talking to me, you usually get so stuffy when the prosecution loses." Phoenix said after a few steps in silence, giving Miles' hand a taunting squeeze.

Miles shook his head dismissively. "I knew this trial was going to end with Blackquill's acquittal, I just wasn't expecting such a turn of events. You may have been convinced of that girl's innocence, but all the evidence pointed to the opposite." Miles turned from Phoenix to watch Athena as he said this, as if wondering to himself how he ever considered the overemotional girl to be a killer. Or, at least, Phoenix hoped he was thinking that.

It would serve him right.

Miles really had been going after Athena there for a while, Phoenix didn't doubt that. He gulped. That might be good and all for truth and justice, but not so good for Miles trusting Phoenix's belief in his clients. Phoenix's pace slowed to put some distance between them and the rest of the group.

"You didn't have to be so harsh when accusing her, you know." Phoenix said when he figured they were far enough back not to be overheard. This wasn't exactly a subject that he wanted to breach, but it was bothering him. He looked down at the pavement uncomfortably, where he could see that Miles' sharp steps were bringing him ahead of Phoenix.

Miles' purposeful strides lessened to match Phoenix's new slower pace. Not looking back up, Phoenix couldn't tell if Miles was still looking away when he continued. "I did have to be. Otherwise you wouldn't have accepted it as a possibility."

He was right. The contradictions that Phoenix had counted on for his defense had all fallen apart when Edgeworth had proposed Athena to be the true killer. Both of them had reached the same conclusion by then, that it was the only thing at time that would allow Blackquill to be innocent. It came down to Phoenix pleading with Edgeworth not to say it in the end, something the prosecutor hadn't listened to in his quest for the truth.

That was still a crucial difference between them: Edgeworth believed in logic where Phoenix believed in people.

Maybe it wasn' so bad a thing that they wouldn't be facing each other in court very often. Or ever again. Phoenix wasn't sure what he would have done if Athena had been proven guilty. He may not have been able to forgive Edgeworth for that. And he knew Edgeworth wouldn't have gone against his precious creed to avoid risking Phoenix's trust. He'd shown that in court today.

_We just have to trust each other that the truth we find will always be the complete truth._

Phoenix blinked at the concrete, coming back to himself. He didn't need to think about what could have happened, because it didn't. Athena was not guilty. Blackquill was not guilty. Somehow, everything had worked out in the end.

Just like he and Miles' always seemed to do.

Phoenix squeezed Miles' hand again, reassuring himself that the other man hadn't let go in the long pause after Miles' heavy comment. The footsteps and voices from the group growing further ahead of them had been the only sound between them for a while. He looked up from the pavement to find that Miles was looking at him again. No, wait, staring. All at once, their eyes locked and Phoenix could tell from the look in Miles' keen gray eyes that he truly was sorry for making the mistake of accusing Athena. Well, maybe not for accusing her, but for having to put Phoenix through the ordeal of facing that it _could _have been a possibility. A horrible, unthinkable possibility. Miles wouldn't apologize out loud, Phoenix knew he was too proud of his principles for that, but it was good to see that they both felt pretty bad over the whole issue. Phoenix hoped his eyes were conveying something along the lines of "it's cool" and "everything turned out okay", but they'd probably still have to continue this conversation later when they could speak more freely.

And when they weren't supposed to be celebrating like the group that, by now, was a very good ways ahead of them.

Actually, Phoenix probably wouldn't be feeling so cheated if he'd had a fair chance to back Miles' claims into a tough corner when, eventually, the tide of the trial had turned in the defense's favor. But Miles had let Blackquill take over the prosecution before he'd had the chance. Wait a minute... Had he done that on purpose? No, Blackquill had requested to take out the phantom himself and Edgeworth had...

Given up his one chance to go against Phoenix again to let him.

Oh, he so had run away.

Phoenix was suddenly yanked back by the arm. Looking back in surprise, Miles was giving him a stern look that reprimanded Phoenix silently for not looking where he was walking. Turning back in confusion, Phoenix realized that they had come to a stoplight and had to wait for the light to change or else risk getting flattened. Not that Phoenix wasn't a pro at taking on cars, but Miles probably wasn't so sturdy when it came to taking on in moving traffic. Phoenix hadn't realized that he'd almost become a human pancake because he so was caught up with staring at Miles. To be honest, Phoenix figured that there were worse last moments. The group of noodle-goers didn't seem to even notice that they were leaving their reluctant benefactor in the dust, having made the light and not stopped to wait for the two of them. So much for gratitude.

"Hey, Miles," Phoenix started, going back to looking at the prosecutor because, with this traffic, the light probably wasn't going to change anytime soon. "When you let Blackquill take up the prosecution... That wasn't because you were going to lose, was it?"

With his free hand, Miles wagged a finger knowingly a Phoenix. "I told you that we were going to be facing each other in court again. However, I had no intention of losing to you, Mr. Wright." Miles winked. Sometimes Phoenix wondered how they didn't kill each other with their clashing egos.

"Hold on..." Phoenix shook his head, a few things not quite coming together. Though, in his opinion, Miles clearly deserved to be shoved off the curb for admitting to running away to save what was left of his win record. Miles was the one who had asked him to get involved the first place, so... "Does that mean you wanted me to get my badge back just because you thought that you could beat me for a change?"

The light changed. Miles let go of Phoenix's hand and started across the street with long, quick strides. He didn't look back when he replied. "You know why I needed you to have your badge back, Phoenix." That made Phoenix feel less like he was going to kidnap some hostages himself and demand a retrial. That was, until Miles added, "I just considered it a possible added bonus."

That bastard.

Phoenix opened his mouth to shout something rude back, but the pedestrians light started counting down and he scrambled to get across the street to catch up with Miles' chuckling, quickly retreating form.


End file.
